The Past Comes Back to Haunt Us
by Cirronian de Bergerac
Summary: May be considered AU??? 1st time writer unsure of protocols....Jess finds alien artifacts & investigates.
1. Past Chapter 1

1 Tracker – The Past Comes Back to Haunt Us – Part 1  
  
Dust particles scattered through the twilight, filling the air and making Jess sneeze. Perched precariously on one shapely hip, the upper half of her body deep inside the utility shelving in the basement of the Watchfire bar Jess was not having very much luck finding what she sought.  
  
"There's just got to be more," her accent becoming more & more pronounced as she mumbled to herself in frustration.  
  
A furtive noise from over by the basement steps causes her to wobble as she jerks herself out of the cramped metal shelving. The shelving starts to wobble, the boxes she is balanced on start to sway and in seconds the entire unstable tower comes down and Jess jumps free of the wreckage with a curse. Picking herself up from where she tumbled, Jess surveys the damage. Lopsided metal poles embedded in the old stucco walls, their crosspieces leaning drunkenly, their contents a jumble of cardboard & clothe on the concrete.  
  
"Mel is gonna kill me for this for sure" Moving forward to try to move some of the things back into place Jess' attention is caught by a dull patch of color partially exposed through the cracked wall.  
  
"What the?" Her trademark lightning grin breaks across her face as she squirrels up the stack of debris, prodding at the hole, widening it so that she can get at whatever is in there. 'This might be it! Whatever IT, might be' she thought to herself. Gingerly pulling the cloth bundle free of the stucco she opens what looks like a well-padded bandanna. Another furtive noise causes her to close up the bundle looking around cautiously, nothing there, but the hair raising on the back of her neck shapes the decision to take everything upstairs to examine, the bathroom should be safe enough. After all if Mel found out she'd been snooping in Gran's stuff…again, there would be hell to pay. Besides, this time she wanted to actually get to read the stuff she found. Nonchalance was not her forte and Jess knew it so she breezed up the stairs, already concocting a brazen excuse for the mess below stairs, she was unsurprised to see Mel & Cole arguing quietly. Of course, just like always they both clammed up when she came towards them from the doorway. Mel's eyes widened as they took in Jess' dusty appearance.  
  
"What happened to you?" Mel asked Jess. "You look like you had a huge fight with a killer dust bunny and the bunny seems to have won" Mel's smile negated any sharpness to the comment and they both turned as Cole rushed to the basement door.  
  
"Cole! Wait!" Mel's voice stopped Cole before he could make his descent. "Where are you going?"  
  
"To fight the dust bunny, Mel. It hurt Jess" Cole replied as if it should be obvious.  
  
"Is he for real?" Jess asked as she doubled over in laughter. Then laughed harder at Cole's perplexed expression. At the disapproving look on Mel's face, she sobered up and declared that she needed to go clean up before they got any customers. 'Sheesh, it wasn't like she laughed at Cole all of the time… But sometimes he was so smart & sometimes he was like a 3 year old. Taking everything so …literal.' It took some getting used to.  
  
Leaving Mel to her stammering explanation of killer dust bunnies. Jess opened the door to the ladies lounge, skin roughening as she felt a slight breeze that caused her to shiver, dismissing it as coming from the slightly open transom window she shut the door and then settled on the side of the sink to peruse her ill gotten secrets.  
  
Laying each piece gingerly on the counter, Jess contemplated the package itself. 5 slightly bizarre metal & plastic shapes had been enfolded in the cloth along with a yellowed piece of paper, but the cloth itself had been written on.  
  
'Mel, if you are reading this, then I must assume that the visitors have returned. I hope for all of our sake's it is the Guardians and not the others. The Prophecy is probably at work. There are things you need to know about & you will find names & addresses for the people who can help you in this fight. Remember that I love you and NEVER give up hope. The prophecy tells of a being of peace, light & love who will find the warrior's heart & together they can defeat the evil that seeks to destroy all life. Honey, you were always your grandfather's heart & warrior that he was, he gave his life knowing he was only buying time for our world. The evil that is coming is not from our world & I know you probably think I am a dotty old lady but please…. please trust me, trust your heart. Arm yourself with the knowledge of my friends; they've been through this before. I only wish I could help you. Keep Jess safe, she controls the key. God bless you child. Love, Gran  
  
"I control the key? Whot key?" Stunned and disbelieving Jess wanted to dismiss the letter as the ravings of 'what did Gran call herself?' a dotty old woman, but she knew Gran P was one of the sanest people EVER! Right up until her last breath.  
  
Turning the items on the counter, Jess picked up the first piece. It felt like metal but was a blue/black color and had weird engravings on it, shaped like some type of frame, the other pieces seemed to made of a different material more like normal metal & plastic. She reached for the silvery metal sphere and it seemed to spark in her hand, she felt dizzy, her vision blurred & she saw a bright, blue/white light, it felt as if it were coming towards her. Panicked Jess dropped the sphere back onto the cloth on the counter and took a shaky step backward. Her hands shook as she pushed her bangs off her suddenly sweaty forehead.  
  
"What the hell just happened?" Hearing her own whisper helped steady Jess somewhat but, seriously spooked she quickly wrapped everything back into the cloth, taking great care not to touch the sphere.  
  
"On second thought" Jess muttered to herself carefully extracting the aged paper with the names and then putting the package inside the pouch pocket of her sweatshirt. "It can't hurt to check this out"" She let herself out of the bathroom and returned to the bar.  
  
Nestov let himself return to normal. Sagging wearily against the tile he blew out a long breath. Hiding in the basement had been a piece of cake, an almost unconscious reaction to Jess' furtive maneuverings. He had gone down there to see what she was up to, besides that girl was F. I .N. E. fine! He could watch her work all day. Ok getting away from Cole & his 'neck pinch' played a big part in his desire to escape. But as he got down the steps & saw her pull the package out of the wall his natural instincts had taken over & blended with the shadows & watched. The white tile in the bathroom had been a challenge. He was a Desserian not a true chameleon and the effort of holding his cover had been hard but what had him shaking were the contents of that package. Of course he didn't know exactly what the pieces were but he recognized a few of the symbols. Arcane as the glyphs were, every child in the Migar systems had grown up on stories about P'shar and his rebels. And those were definitely! Eamon symbols.  
  
Splashing water on his face he hurriedly blotted away the excess water and went out to face Cole who was calling him from the hallway.  
  
"Mellow out dude. I was just washing my hands." Making sure his face was composed, Nestov turned to face the Tracker.  
  
Cole nodded at Nestov wisely. "Personal hygiene is important Nestov". Turning, Cole led the way down the hallway to his room with Nestov following slowly trying to decide if he should tell the Tracker what he saw. Or maybe not. After all there might just be a profit to be had, if he could figure out what those pieces were. 


	2. Past Chapter 2

Tracker – The Past Comes Back to Haunt Us – Part 2  
  
The letter from Ewan was the crowning touch, the perfect excuse to go to London and find out what was going on.  
  
She needed to resolve her feelings for Ewan once and for all. Now that he was showing the commitment she had demanded was she having a change of heart? Jess didn't think so but now that marriage was rapidly becoming a real possibility, she just wasn't sure anymore if she could make that commitment. Jess knew that her sojourn in America had changed her, she hoped for the better. The question now became how much Ewan had changed and would they be able to make a relationship work. Putting aside her personal issues, she mumbled to herself "It's not as if I can solve those tonight anyway, I might as well start on the list".  
  
Jess turned on her computer and retrieved the list from her pocket. The Internet provided a wealth of information on the people but it was all hopelessly outdated material. All about their past endeavors. They would all have retired for the most part and she needed to know who and where they were now.  
  
Signing off the Internet she picked up the phone to begin calling. The first two phone numbers were a bust. But the third number Jess hit paydirt of a sort. Yes, Andreas Sintella had been a resident but was no longer alive. Mr. Sintella's affairs were being handled by a man named Sam Hulston and if she needed to she could contact him at the number they gave her.  
  
"Alright then! Jess Hewett detective at large. I see old people." High on her success Jess chortled to herself for a moment then took a deep breath and called the international number.  
  
The knock at the door startled Jess away from her computer. "Who would be knocking at her flat this late? She wondered, checking her mental dating calendar. Cautiously she checked the peephole. "Whot is HE doing here?" she muttered, unsnapping the locks and opening the door to Nestov.  
  
"Hey beautiful, what's shaking?" Nestov flashed his best 'I'm harmless' smile at her.  
  
Hands on her hips, Jess snapped impatiently "What are you doing here?"  
  
A shrug of slender shoulders accompanied Nestov's "You probably won't believe I was just passing by and decided to stop in?"  
  
"Not hardly" Jess replied.  
  
"I didn't think so," Nestov laughed. "Let me come in, we have a certain bundle from the basement to talk about." Taking advantage of her momentary shock Nestov pushed past Jess into the sitting area of the tiny apartment. "Nice place Jess."  
  
"Yeah, well I like it." Jess replied automatically, she was still trying to sort out how Cole's weird friend knew about the package she had snuck out of the Watchfire's basement. Shutting the door and relocking the locks Jess gestured at the couch for Nestov to have a seat.  
  
Nestov sat, relaxed now that he was inside. The hardest part of most cons was getting the mark to accept the hook, but in this case he had the right bait as well as another hook if the mark played hard to get. Blackmail was a handy hook to have as a backup and he knew Jess did NOT want to explain 'stealing' the bundle from the bar to Mel.  
  
"How'd ja know about the basement?" Belligerence made Jess' accent stronger and she was almost strident in her demand.  
  
"Simple. I saw you. I was hiding at the top of the stairs." Nestov replied.  
  
"So that was you I heard?"  
  
"Yep that was me and I know what you found, well kinda, part of it anyway." Nestov added sheepishly at Jess' disbelieving glare.  
  
"Oh yeahr? Ok what is it exactly that you think you know?"  
  
"You found artifacts, some pieces of alien technology or something." Nestov sat forward, earnest now in his attempt to get through to Jess.  
  
The arrhythmic vibration shuddered through the Earth's mantle. Gentle and deep the atonal hum throbbed. Outside of London in the wilds of Cotswold Heath the ground began to vibrate softly. And deep beneath the ground an unearthly glow shimmered to life inside a metal sphere. Building in intensity and pulsing in time to the drum-like throb the sphere seemed almost…. Alive. Minutes, then hours went by, the light pulsed and grew brighter. The vibration suddenly stopped and where the ball of bright, hot light had shimmered stood a man. Head raised he seemed to test the air. 'Ahhhhh" the breath sighed out as the man stretched his limbs. "It would seem that my services are needed once more." The man smiled, without a bit of humor. 


	3. Past Chapter 3

Tracker – The Past Comes Back to Haunt Us – Part 3  
  
"Aurora? It's Sam." The telephone receiver emitted only a static silence. "Aurora?"  
  
"I'm here Sam." Aurora shook herself mentally. The momentary shock of hearing his voice had taken her abruptly back nearly 40 years. They had all agreed to only use coded mail & later encrypted email for contact. Whatever the reason that had Sam calling, she was filled with foreboding.  
  
"Someone's been snooping in old business." Sam's voice held a tremor of trepidation.  
  
"Do we know who?" Aurora demanded.  
  
"Not exactly but I'm working on it" Sam replied.  
  
Aurora Minot straightened her 60-year-old frame, surprised to find herself hunched over; quite like the frightened 20 year old she had been when she had first met Sam Hulston.  
  
Silence sat between them for a moment as they both contemplated the past. Arthur had been the one to make the find. 26 years old and full of himself as the assistant to Marion Damerest, renowned archeologist.  
  
"Rory, you will not believe what we found!" Arthur had burst into their small apartment in Lombard, Illinois, just outside Chicago. It was not yet part of the city. More a collection of sprawling farms & businesses, separated by odd hills and open spaces from the city of Chicago proper.  
  
"We found a cave, well a kind of underground room of sorts. It's filled with strange glyphs & some weird devices or parts of some kind." Arthur sped through his explanation, pacing rapidly back & forth. He had fairly vibrated with the excitement he felt.  
  
"Slow down chere." Aurora had gone to him and placed soft, white hands on his shoulders.  
  
He had stooped slightly to place a quick buss across her lips but was too hyped up to be contained, he moved quickly back to pacing. "Love, we thought to find something from the past, some bits of history that would help us understand human development. Instead we've found something…non- human that may change man's history.  
  
Author's shoulders had drooped slightly as the enormity of what they'd found overwhelmed him for a moment, if it were authentic.  
  
Authenticity wasn't the problem. What came looking for them once they removed the artifacts from their earthen tomb was.  
  
It had started innocuously enough, a request from NASA to examine the strangely worked metals pieces. No problem there, the team needed expert help.  
  
Marion Damerest studied pot shards, mummies and bones, Arthur Minot the same, Aurora expertise was cataloguing and fund raising to keep the dig going, Mickey Lowenstein was the best lab man, Carbon dating, Flourine dating and Seriation he was the best. But these article defied all of Mickey's tests and NASA's top engineer Sam Hulston had gone to work.  
  
There was no answer, nothing on Earth; no material was even close to a match. If it had been a chunk of rock, a piece of metal in it's natural unshaped form it could have been passed off as a piece of meteorite or something spewed from some other naturally occurring space traveling body. But, these pieces had been worked, shaped by something or someone for a purpose. What that purpose was? The next question after where the stuff came from.  
  
It was during the testing phase, that one enterprising technician managed to accidentally activate some of the pieces he had put together like a jigsaw puzzle. Then the pieces had flowed together and begun emitting a laser type of projection, Earth's first holographic display. It lasted around 5 minutes, then it shut itself off & the pieces resumed their separated status. In awed silence the main technicians worked to duplicate what the technician had done. Finally success! What we didn't know was that when active the thing emitted a pulse, a frequency that we couldn't measure or track but that someone, something else could.  
  
So they came. Hunting for the weapons. Lured by the promise of power beyond imagination, pressed by the need to conquer, voracious appetites for destruction needed to be assuaged & this technology could give them what they wanted. Conquer our solar system and then use it as a base to bring the Migar Alliance to its knees, to not only return home, but to return to their home world the victors.  
  
That was the beginning of the end. 5 years later they were all fighting for their lives, for the lives of all humanity. And Arthur, he was dead. And what was left of herself…dead too.  
  
When the smoke cleared they had all fled, some to London, some stayed in the Midwest and some had simply disappeared. Most likely to lick their wounds and recover from the inconceivable war they had won.  
  
The sound of a throat clearing on the other end of the phone brought her back from the past.  
  
"Have you contacted the others?" A hint of fear rode her voice. ' If he had called Marion then the threat was all too real.'  
  
"Yes. I called them all" Sam's voice shook slightly. "The inquiries are coming from two separate sources as far as I can tell. One appears harmless, the other… well let's just say that one worried me enough to send the summons."  
  
"When will everyone get here?" Aurora asked. Her fingers were stroking her cheek unconsciously, a worry gesture that was so ingrained that she never noticed it anymore.  
  
"Tomorrow night" Sam replied. "And we'll get a better fix on the harmless case the next day. A girl named Jess will be flying in from Chicago"  
  
The sharp gasp from Aurora made him pause slightly.  
  
"She claims she may have something that belongs to us, she actually named us, Aurora & said she has a list of some sort. But the very fact that she is being so open about everything, well I'd bet anything she hasn't got a clue and has stumbled into this by chance."  
  
"Sam, when was the last time anything happened to us by chance?" Aurora's question was met with silence as Sam digested that thought.  
  
"Alright, I'll prepare a welcome for our guest. Sam? You didn't say. Did you get a reply to the query?" Aurora asked in a hushed voice.  
  
"No. Not yet, but after 40 years it may not get answered" Sam responded in the same hushed tone.  
  
"It'll get answered." Aurora stated. "But at what cost? What cost?" She slowly lowered the receiver to the cradle without saying goodbye. 


	4. Past Chapter 4

Tracker – The Past Comes Back to Haunt Us – Part 4  
  
Cole & Mel dropped Jess off at the airport. Jess was relieved at finally having convinced Mel that there was no need to see her board the plane. Standing in the boarding line she looked around for Nestov.  
  
Grinning like an idiot he waved his tickets at her. "When we get in to London I will soooo be ready to party".  
  
Jess smacked his shoulder. "We're supposed to be investigating, not partying".  
  
"And what law says we can't do both?" Nestov asked with a shrug.  
  
Jess rolled her eyes at him as they began the boarding process. 'No wonder Cole was always pinching this guy.' She thought to herself.  
  
The trip was uneventful and they checked into a small hotel in London.  
  
"We might as well get going" Jess told Nestov.  
  
"Well, I've been thinking about that" he said. "I don't think we should both just walk in there. What if something goes wrong? One of us needs to be able to rescue the other."  
  
"That makes sense". Jess said. "They'll be expecting me, so I will go in and you can sneak around and see what's going on since you seem to be so good at sneaking".  
  
"You aren't goin ta hold that basement thing against me forever are you?" Nestov turned puppy dog eyes on Jess.  
  
"Don't try it!" Jess snapped at Nestov, still wondering how she had ever agreed to let this moron come along. But secretly she was relieved just a bit to have someone else with her, even if it was this idiot.  
  
"Let's go then" Jess went to the door, Nestov following in her wake. "We'll get the feel of the place before the meeting".  
  
The Fire Down Below pub was easy to find. Slightly run down it sat nestled in on older part of London. It seemed to cater to a much older crowd than the Watchfire had.  
  
"What a dump" Nestov declared from the passenger side of the rented mini.  
  
"Yeah, well we aren't here to find dates so who cares" Jess replied.  
  
"Good thing too, no one in this whole area is under 65" Nestov growled back.  
  
They had scouted the area thoroughly, deciding on a plan. Jess would go in and talk to this Sam guy while Nestov disguised himself as an elderly man in a wheel chair just having a drink in the bar.  
  
Jess was impatient, she slowly pace beside the rental. Nestov had said to give him 15 minutes to get settled inside the bar before coming in. Well his 15 minutes were up. Settling her bag on her shoulder, Jess entered the pub's front doors. A weird light was strobing, not the usual fare for this type of bar decoration. Looking around she saw movement at the back.  
  
"Oh my God! Stop!" Running towards the figures disappearing behind the slowly closing doors, Jess was abruptly caught by a large, bald, black man.  
  
"Hold on sweets. Where d'you think you are going?" The large man's voice was a bass rumble.  
  
"That man in the wheel chair, he er he looked sick or something. I thought I could help." Jess lied smoothly suddenly remembering that the plan was should one of them be caught the other needed to stay free to help.  
  
She found her arm caught in a vise-like grip. "I was born at night lady, just not last night. What is that guy to you?" The menace in the man's voice was palpable now.  
  
"Nothing! I swear! I just thought I could help." Jess was intensely aware that there might be more danger here than she thought.  
  
A voice rang out from the speaker above the bar. "Bring her below Davis, we might actually get a customer and we wouldn't want to disturb our clientele would we?"  
  
In the pub's basement, Nestov woke quickly, moving like the elderly man of his disguise. Not because he was still in character, but because whatever had happened in the bar made him ache in every joint of his appropriated body. His brief attempt to stretch was halted as he realized he had been secured to his motorized wheel chair with duct tape with the same across his mouth, effectively gagging him. His Desserian senses told him he had not been out long at all a few minutes at best, but apparently long enough to have been trussed up like a hog.  
  
He looked up in alarm as Jess was hustled down the basement steps by the bartender. 'Cole was soooo going to kill him when he found out about this. Resigning himself to a date with a collector, he looked at Jess in askance.  
  
"I saw you being wheeled away when I got here. Why are you tied up?" Jess realized that Nestov couldn't very well answer & turned to her captor. "What's going on here?"  
  
The large man smiled at her.  
  
Jess hoped that wasn't HIS best 'I'm harmless' smile.  
  
"Your questions will be answered in a minute." He gestured for her to sit. "Sam will be right with you and since you already know our other guest you two can wait here together."  
  
It was bizarre, a trip through Alice's looking glass. A short line of what appeared to be geriatric hippies filed into the basement, most of them keeping to the shadows. There seemed to be 4 or 5 males and one lone female waiting off to the side in the darkest part of the room.  
  
A short, round man with a bushy white mustache stepped close to Nestov "What are you doing here with an alien?" he asked peering intently down at the bound Desserian.  
  
"What Aliens?" Jess is puzzled. "You mean aliens? Like illegal immigrants?"  
  
There is a light yet alarming laugh. "Silly child, no."  
  
Jess realizes they mean something totally different and looks at Nestov. "Oh. You mean aliens like ET?"  
  
There is a brief silence. "Why have you come? To spy on us?"  
  
Jess shook her head. "No! We were just trying to find out something." And pulled out the maps and address book. "I found this and thought I could help my friend learn more about her grandmother."  
  
Another brief silence ensued. Then..."She has the map," said another from the shadows.  
  
"Do you have the key?" a second one inquires.  
  
Nestov & Jess stare at one another. "What key?" Jess has trouble swallowing, remembering Gran P's words 'take care of Jess, she controls the key.  
  
The small blonde woman came forward, the dim light of the basement shining on one half of her face. She slowly turns to face Jess and reveals patterns of ruined skin on her jaw, Jess' eyes widen in horror and pity. The mark is a vaguely familiar shape. Aurora pointed to her face & said "This key".  
  
Jess recoiled a bit. "I don't know what you are talking about" her voice went small in sudden fear. These people were nuts. Jess stood abruptly "I want to leave NOW! If you try to keep me here it will be kidnapping! My, my, uh sister knows where I am and she'll send the Bobbies if I don't check in soon."  
  
"Not exactly the finest of fighting brigades anymore, are we my friends?" The voice that spoke from the shadows was lightly accented, more Wales than Brit. Lighter than a true baritone but not quite tenor. Never the less it made all of the room's occupants rigid with tension.  
  
Stepping into the lighter portion of the room, the man appeared to be in his early thirties, unremarkable dark hair, prominent nose and hazel eyes, yet his visage held each of the people captured in the tableau with the fascination usually reserved for snakes.  
  
"Was it too much to ask that you would be one of the dead?" Aurora was the first to recover her aplomb enough to take a snipe at the stranger.  
  
"Eamon are hard to kill Rory. Surely you remember that much."  
  
A long fingered hand skimmed lightly down Aurora's disfigured cheek, withdrawing as she flinched away. A slight smile acknowledged her small move.  
  
"What in the name of the one you call God made you summon me?" The piercing fierceness of his changeable eyes caused the group to draw a collective sharp breath. "And if I may ask?" he paused "How did you old farts manage to capture a Desserian?"  
  
As the man approached him Nestov drew his body in as tightly as possible. Something about him made Nestov want to disappear, not just blend & hide, really disappear. Even Cole's collector did not scare him as badly as did this man.  
  
"Ah! Those are racial memories Desserian. Eamon once hunted your kind for sport, relax, the fear will fade with time." The figure stopped in front of him, seemingly studying him. "Don't forget about the threat completely mind you, there may yet come another dark time & that warning sense could come in handy for one of your ancestors." It wasn't quite a smile that he gave Nestov, more the hungry acknowledgment from predator to prey. 


	5. Past Chapter 5

Tracker – The Past Comes Back to Haunt Us Part 5  
  
"NOW!" Paden's voice suddenly rose even as he straightened to his full height, shoulders spreading & eyes glittering. "WHO SUMMONS THE GUARDIAN?" Not a shout but nearly as deafening, the question thundered through the small room.  
  
Swallowing heavily and without looking at the others, Sam stepped forward. "I summoned he who guards." His voice broke a little on the admission.  
  
"AND DO YOU KNOW THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR ACTIONS HUMAN?"  
  
" I do." Sam replied, voice & body shaking in trepidation.  
  
"OK." The guardian voice receded in volume as Paden re-established himself. The change in register brought all of the elderly peoples heads up to face Paden. "Forget about the part where I take your body to work with, I kinda like this one."  
  
Disbelief spread across all of their faces as the Guardian broke into laughter, eyes crinkling. The summoner would provide the Guardian with a host body and would die, that was the admonition they had been told, that to summon the Guardian would be at the risk of their own personal peril.  
  
"Oh come on, did you think I would learn nothing over the years? I created my own body this time. Granted we couldn't do that before but what you see now is how I'll stay…. For now anyway."  
  
"But" Aurora stopped.  
  
"Go on" the Guardian looked almost fondly upon the tiny woman.  
  
"This is how you looked before"  
  
"Well not quite Rory. I formed myself on my former host's younger self. That body was aging, slowly of course, but it was becoming, confining if you will."  
  
"You mean the body was old & you were afraid you would die in it." Marion stated aggressively looking like an out of sorts bulldog.  
  
The guardians eyes flared, color changing to the deep green of anger momentarily. "Noooo I mean, that I had allowed my host the use of his body again. Unlike most of my kind I did not destroy my host when I took over his body. I merely sat back for the rest of the ride through his life if you will. Learning about humans & the things of Earth until such time as I was able to move into my own body."  
  
"Is Paden Lyles dead?" Jerry Lowenstein was a man of few words, all of them blunt or sarcastic.  
  
"He is dying, yes. But in the normal course of human life, death is the inevitable conclusion. I did nothing to cause it. He is quite simply, old. His body is shutting down in preparation for death."  
  
The others shifted, uncomfortably aware of their own mortality.  
  
The Guardian turned back to Jess & Nestov "So introduce us please and then we can get on with whatever is going on."  
  
"We caught these two" Marion was interrupted by Jess.  
  
"Whot dyou mean caught us? I found these weird pieces of metal, along with the names of these whackos. I came here with my friend, in good faith mind you and they tie him up and start yammerin on about aliens & keys & such. That's whot's 'appening… you are all nuts! Let us go!"  
  
"I like her." The guardian slipped the words in while Jess was taking a deep breath to begin again.  
  
"We don't exactly know what's going on." Marion admitted. "When she contacted Sam, we assumed she was the intrusion we needed to worry about. Then another tried getting into the files, red flags went up in too many places to discount the possibility that we had Hunters back on Earth. Only someone or something that knew about the past would be looking in all of those files. One or two, maybe, but these inquires were too precise & focused."  
  
"It would seem that our precautions took a left turn somewhere." The Guardian appeared amused. "Human history is full of these kinds of surprises."  
  
"You said you found some articles?"  
  
"Yeahr, my friend's Grandmother died and we found some stuff of hers."  
  
"So Jessamin Bin Hari no one told you that you have a role to play in the continued existence of the Earth?"  
  
"Wait! I'm Jessica Hewitt not this Jessamin whatever" Jess said, relief clear in her voice. 'Obviously these nut cases had the wrong girl.'  
  
"No." The guardian stepped forward to regard Jess closely. "You were adopted, yes?"  
  
"Wull yeahr, so"  
  
"The so is that you are actually the daughter of an old friend, M'dar bin Hari, your human father was host to him."  
  
Jess backed away from the loons. Obviously she had stumbled into some kind of cult. Hard to believe that Gran P would be mixed up with something like this, but what else explained it?  
  
"Wait!" Sam put out an imploring hand to Jess. At her pause he turned to the Guardian, "Show her."  
  
The Guardian bent a look of long suffering at Sam then moved away from the group. A mask of concentration and stillness came over him. His body seemed to glow a bit and his face & limbs seemed to blur or fade into the light.  
  
"I am J'tieri, Guardian of the 8TH portal to Migar" The voice came from the light, startling Jess & frightening Nestov nearly to death. 


	6. Past Chapter 6

Tracker – The Past Comes Back to Haunt Us – Part 6  
  
For Nestov, the scene was like a childhood nightmare come to life. Desserians had told stories for eons to their children about creatures made of light that preyed on bad Desserian children. The figure in front of him was the Desserian equivalent of Earth's bogeyman.  
  
The glow faded and Paden Lyles once more stood before them. Lanky legs splayed and arms akimbo.  
  
"Ok, formalities are out of the way, let's get down to business. And get the girl a chair before she falls down." Waiting for them to seat the clearly shocked Jess, Paden paced.  
  
"Alright we have a Desserian, a fairly young life force, here on Earth. I'm guessing that means contact has been made with a Migar world, yes?" He directed the question at Nestov. Reaching over Paden ripped the duct tape from Nestov's mouth, wincing in sympathy as he howled.  
  
Moistening his dry lips Nestov told the Eamon about Zin, the wormhole and the convicts. Ignoring Jess' look of horror. "Daggon is also here. I've been helping him capture the others."  
  
"Ah a Desserian with an altruistic streak?" Merry hazel eyes twinkled at Nestov; clearly the Guardian was amused by the thought.  
  
"Well, to be honest. He made me an offer I couldn't refuse." Nestov felt compelled to tell the truth of the matter.  
  
"Daggon? I assume he is a Tracker, yes?"  
  
"Yes, his Earth name is Cole and he is Cirronian." Nestov replied.  
  
"Ah the Cirronians, a wonderful life form. So like us. Of all the crossbreeds they were always my favorites." A fond smile spread across the Eamon's face. "Bet they scared the hell out of your people at first contact, hmmm?" A sly glance at Nestov's sweaty appearance proved his point.  
  
"So this… Zin is searching for something. How much does he know?"  
  
Nestov shrugged as much as the duct tape would allow. "Don't know exactly, the Tracker has been screwing up his plans royally." Nestov wriggled a bit more then stopped at the quelling eyebrow lifted in his direction. "He knows there are maps & keys & weapons here. He has some equipment that helps him locate things. Vardian's hide their intentions well. "  
  
"Based on old Eamon technology no doubt." Paden sighed. "Appropriated from some museum probably."  
  
"Release the Desserian." Paden told Jerry. "He won't be going anywhere." Turning a warning frown on Nestov. "I haven't forgotten the pleasure of the hunt." The words fairly oozed menace.  
  
Nestov struggled against the urge to blend. "No problem man." At the cocked eyebrow he hastily amended his statement "No problem sir!" Nestov stood on shaky legs & squared his shoulders. "I've been helping the Tracker already, I might as well cross the rest of the way." Raising his arms as if fighting with a light saber and grinning" Good Jedi am I." Nestov basically had a good-humored nature and it was asserting itself, even in the face of danger.  
  
Paden threw back his head and roared with laughter. "Welcome to my side of the Force, young Desserian." They shared a conspiratorial grin.  
  
Nestov relaxed. 'Unlike a certain Cirronian, this menace had a sense of humor, and no neck pinch! This is good, I can work with this.' He thought.  
  
"What are you called Desserian?"  
  
"Nestov"  
  
"Yeah, ok I'm Jess, he's Nestov, whatever. You guys are all welcome to hang out with light boy here but you can count me out!" Jess voice held the shrill edge of panic.  
  
"Sorry fair Jessamin" Paden took Jess by the hand in spite of her attempt to keep him away. Warmth stole over her. She felt peace and something else through the contact. Arousal? Looking into the pale face she searched Paden's eyes, their brandied tones holding green flecks now. Something, for a brief moment something hot and wonderful stared back at her, then it was gone, shuttered behind a half lidded hazel gaze.  
  
"We need you. No one can control a weapons lock except a direct descendant of the bin H'ari or someone who has been given the A' mesh of such a bin H'ari life force." At her continued blank look he went on.  
  
The Guardian sighed over their ignorance, "At the time of death certain Eamon were able to project their A' mesh, the closest I can come in your language is soul, not the consciousness but the very essence of themselves. They were able to pass this on to someone else. Usually a loved one would accept it. Because of this 'talent' the H'ari or O'lesh lines were chosen as keepers of information. They would literally key a lock of one type or another to their soul or a' mesh's signature. No one except the person with that a' mesh would be able to key open that lock."  
  
"Like a retinal scan is today?" Jerry was on more familiar ground with the lock & key theories.  
  
"Exactly. No two would be alike". Paden confirmed.  
  
Jess took a deep breath, "I control the key!" Suddenly Gran P's letter made sense.  
  
"You have the keys?" Paden 's body tensed.  
  
"Wull, noh. At least I don't think I do." Jess look bewildered. "Do I?"  
  
Aurora came forward. Opening her hands she showed Paden what Jess had brought with her.  
  
Without touching the sphere, Paden sifted through the pieces. Looking up he sighed, "We're missing some things, that's the good news."  
  
"And the bad news?" The duet of questions came from Sam & Marion. "She's already keyed the sphere." Said Paden sadly.  
  
"And that means whot exactly?" Jess piped up.  
  
"Something I was hoping to avoid. It means a weapon of mass destruction has been keyed to your soul. The key can only be released to another upon your death. 


End file.
